The holotype of Sarmatodelphis moldavicus Kirpichnikov, 1954, is an incomplete skull and a cervical vertebra from the Bessarabian Stage (late middle to early late Miocene) of Kishinev, Republic of Moldavia. Sarmatodelphis moldavicus is confirmed as a small distinct species of kentriodontid (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Delphinoidea) in the subfamily Pithanodelphininae Barnes, 1985. The monotypic Sarmatodelphis has close affinities to the contemporaneous Atocetus Muizon, 1988a, but the Moldavian dolphin has less inflated nasals, and the maxillae reach the midline posterior to the nasals. Nasal bone morphology and posterior development of the maxilla separates S. moldavicus from all other named delphinoid genera.